Deschutes Brewery Delays Building Virginia Plant

Executive cites ‘market adjustment’ in craft beer

Deschutes Brewery will put off building its East Coast plant in Roanoke, Virginia, The Roanoke Times reported Monday.

The brewery was due to close May 1 on the purchase of land, but the Roanoke City Council approved delaying that closing date to May 31 and anticipates unwinding an incentives package that would have required Deschutes to be brewing beer by June 1, 2021, the Times reported.

“It’s no secret that the craft brewing industry is going through a period of market adjustment,” according to a prepared statement attributed to Deschutes CEO Michael LaLonde. “In carefully and thoughtfully considering these market conditions, Deschutes must act with adjustments of our own with regard to the scale and timing of our investments.”

Deschutes does plan to complete its purchase of the Roanoke property with cash, as a demonstration of its commitment to the project and the city, according to the statement. The exact timing of ground breaking on the brewery was not stated.

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